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Mali, Algeria step up war against terror

Mali and Algeria, which share a long border, have pledged to intensify the fight against terrorism.

Bamako reaffirmed the commitment during the recent twelfth session of the Algerian-Malian border committee which met in Mali’s capital.

According to Idrissa Maiga, Mali’s minister of territorial administration, Algeria’s political will is real.

Both Algeria and Mali have been facing an Islamist insurgency.

Al Qaeda’s North African offshoot, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which has its roots in Algeria, has in recent years carried out terror attacks in the region and there is increasing concern on the growing threat of extremism.

Beyond security responses, the two countries reached agreement on the need to fight against poverty and underdevelopment, especially in the common border regions which are the real breeding grounds for insurgents.